What is an SBFT?
A Small Bowel Follow Through (SBFT) is an x-ray exam of your small bowel to detect abnormalities. As part of the procedure, you swallow liquid barium and a series of x-rays are taken as the barium travels through your small bowel. It's a non-invasive exam, but does expose you to radiation.12

What is a CTE?
Computerized tomography enterography (CTE) can view your small bowel from the outside with a special x-ray technique. It can provide images of abnormalities in your intestine, as well as tissues outside the bowel. It's a noninvasive procedure, but it exposes you to more radiation than a conventional x-ray.11

Knowing what's happening in your small bowel is important even if you aren't experiencing Crohn's symptoms.